Letters

SUU needs to return to its roots

Hopefully SUU can return to its roots and once again become a great regional university and not a pipe dream for administrators that only use SUU as a stepping stone for their careers. Benson and Edleman are gone and if Cook would only follow suit, maybe by way of Dubai, SUU can reclaim its place in the Utah education system. A great place, for a great education, for a great price.

Brian Kitteridge

Cedar City

Thanks to area restaurant staff

I would like to express my sincere appreciation to manager Brent Thatcher and his McDonald's staff at 1026 W. 200 North, Cedar City, for going above and beyond the call of duty.

On June 8, I set out from Blackfoot, Idaho, with 110 eighth-grade students and 10 adults on a weeklong science tour of Utah and California. After departing Bryce Canyon National Park, a coolant hose failed on one of the buses, stranding the bus north of Panguitch.

Mr. Thatcher had prepared for the arrival of our large group by having extra staff on shift. My entire group was unable to all arrive until midnight. Several staff members of McDonald's returned to work shortly before midnight to help serve our final group. Some of these workers had Saturday night dates but made the extraordinary effort to come back and help out.

Mr. Thatcher also kept the inside of the restaurant open, giving us a temporary shelter in which to wait until we had a full fleet of buses. Finally, we were able to depart at 3 a.m.

Thank you very much to this amazing group of people for taking such good care of my group.

Alan Southern

Blackfoot, Idaho

China buying U.S. companies

Chinese companies spent $6.5 billion to purchase U.S. companies in 2012, which broke the previous record of $5.2 billion in 2010. It appears the Chinese acquisitions of U.S. companies could exceed $10 billion in 2013.

In May 2013 Shuanghui International agreed to purchase Smithfield Foods. Smithfield is the world's largest hog producer, with 460 farms, and contracts with 2,100 others across the U.S. Will the hog supply be diverted from the U.S. to feed China's burgeoning population? Will China's poor food safety record and the manufacture of low quality products impact Smithfield's operations? Hopefully, Midwestern states will be able to block the sale with laws that prohibit foreign ownership of farmland.

A Chinese consortium purchased International Lease Finance Corp. (ILFC), which owns and leases more than 1,000 aircraft and has relationships with many airlines. In 2012, Chinese companies purchased AMC Entertainment, one of the largest movie theater chains in the U.S.

The U.S. Committee on Foreign Investment should deny Chinese acquisitions if they impact our national security or our country's economic well-being.

Donald A. Moskowitz

Londonderry, N.H.

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Letters

Hopefully SUU can return to its roots and once again become a great regional university and not a pipe dream for administrators that only use SUU as a stepping stone for their careers.